Arafat has always been an obstacle to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which is why Israel stopped dealing with him and former prime minister Abbas resigned. I'm glad to see that Egypt is taking responsibility for its fomer territory in Gaza and the peace process there. Otherwise, a de-facto dominion by Hamas will result, and that will be a disaster for the entire region.

It's clear to me that an Egyptian role is vital to peace in the Gaza strip in the absence of Palestinian willingness to take necessary measures. The Egyptian presence should have positive effects for the Gaza's economy as well, both due to the added stability and the influx of Egyptian soldiers spending money in the area. Assuming Arafat continues to bottleneck the peace process, perhaps Israel should look to Jordan as a partner in negotiations for the West Bank.